Welcome to Hinoto-Ri

[anotherdirkstrider]

Who: Dirk Strider and OPEN
Where: Pisces District, street outside of the apartment building. Late afternoon/sunset.
Summary: Dirk arrives suddenly and without ceremony, finding himself lost and alone in a city full of people. Somehow, all of the people around is a lot weirder to him than the whole waking-up-in-another-world part. Well, guess it's time to gather data, get bearings, and maybe actually talk with someone face-to-face. There's a first time for everything.
Warnings: None (Yet?)


[Dirk feels like he should be more perturbed about waking up in the middle of a completely foreign location, ripped from his own universe and transplanted into another, and yet here he is—not so baffled by the situation (after all, SBURB was supposed to have been something similar), but very much stymied by the presence of so many people.

They are everywhere—all over the streets, down his hall, making noise that made him jump after being conditioned for so many years to regard every external sound with deep suspicion. He is used to waves. Whirring machinery. Seagulls. What he is not used to is ambient conversations picking at the fringes of his thoughts, people laughing and shouting and milling around on streets (and even the notion of actual streets not just sunken deep beneath the surface of the sea is borderline absurd).

It's beautiful. Real streets and cars and inhabited buildings, not just sunken ones. Had he been a softer person he might shed a (completely ironic) tear. The light is golden over the tops of the buildings and everything looks like it's too clean-- too perfect-- for it to be real. His brain churns with all of this new information and can't stop reeling with the prospect of what this means about everything he'd ever known and this is almost too much and if just being here felt like a lot he can't even imagine trying to talk to another person--

He's getting weird looks now. People seem strangely uninterested in a guy walking down the street with a sword and a puppet and a very baffled look on his face, but maybe it's that he ends up standing in the middle of an intersection, only to be jostled from thought by a car honking loudly at him to get out of the way before he becomes a pancake. Dirk flashsteps out of the way and appears back on the sidewalk, bumping into something and turning to realize that it's actually someone instead.]

Oh. Uh.

[Shit. Well, guess his first conversation is going to happen sooner than he thought. Dirk takes a moment, trying to remember what to say.]

Um... right--yeah. Sorry. About that.


((OOC: And sorry on my behalf for the wordy first post, please don't let it intimidate you! I don't write this much usually, I promise-- just wanted to use my writing sample intro and then ended up writing more than I had planned. ^_-; Yeah. Hello there everyone!))

Comments

hiyo and welcome to strings Cx

[ex_knightsky842]

[Alas, Dagran's got no such magnificent excuse as Dirk's enchantment with civilisation for their crash; he'd simply just come back from grocery shopping and had been examining apples for blemishes.


...And now the apples are all over the ground, and some strange kid about his age is standing there when he'd been sure no one was before. Needless to say, as he moves to pick up his spilt fruit, his expression is a little less than friendly.]

Yeah well, mind where you're walkin' mate. Some of us are trying to not get crushed underfoot as is.

...Wait. I haven't seen your face before. [He's not sure if the stranger is a Visitor proper, or just someone beautifully civilian; they did tend to dress weirdly around these parts. But his occasional monitoring of the networks proves in handy for situations like this.] Uh. Let me guess. You just showed up here and it's weird and you have no idea where this place is?

Thanks! :)

[anotherdirkstrider]

[Dirk blinks behind his shades, brows furrowed.] Yeah. Guess it's common around here, then?

[He goes to pick up some of the spilled apples. Might as well get as much information as possible about this world if he's going to operate within it--he begins to rule out his initial hypothesis that this is part of SBURB and begins postulating other hypotheticals. A dream is out-- too long and intense for simple dreaming. Drug based? If Condy caught him then perhaps, but he'd have larger issues at hand, and this is a strange setup too apparently devoid of her presence, would mark a shift in her tactics.

For now he can only speculate and hope this stranger gives him answers.]

[ex_knightsky842]

Coming here all of a sudden? Yup. I was trying to become a knight with my best friend before I got dumped here like a sack of potatoes. It's not so bad here though...They give you money for food, and a place to stay if you want it; I like staying on the streets so I get a feel for this place, but at least you're taken care of a little. [If his arms weren't currently full of food, he'd shrug. As is, Dagran's left to raise his eyebrows at Dirk as if they're both in on some big secret.]

...If it makes you feel better, I have a bad habit of knocking people over too. So I guess uh, don't feel bad about it? We're alright, you and me. [After all, if everyone kept a grudge who he'd nearly bowled over or stabbed, he'd be pretty damn lonely. Might as well extend the same kindness here.


...He's not used to being around quiet people just yet, however; the blond's introspection leaves him a little bemused, although it reminds him of his aforementioned best friend when they'd first met and so brings with it a note of fondness.]

You're not big on words, are you?

[anotherdirkstrider]

Right.

[This guy seems genuinely friendly, which is never to be taken at face value but is at least a good place to start. Dirk makes a forceful effort to pull himself out of thought when Dagran offers the question.]

Yeah, no... Not used to being around people much. Sorry.

[Knight, huh? Sounded more Lord of the Rings than reality, like something out of Roxy's wizard fanfiction. If this guy was telling the truth then the universes all of them came from were radically different parallel existences, possibly born out of the infinite offshoots of time streams. He'd have to look into this later.]

Dirk. [He said, small smile forming. He wasn't used to keeping a straight face, having been able to be largely deadpan with ease when it came to digital communication. Having someone that can see your expressions adds another layer of complexity to social interaction-- then again, there is also the benefit of being able to see other people directly, too.

Dirk realizes that his introduction wasn't exactly eloquent. He decides to elaborate.]

Strider. Dirk Strider.

[ex_knightsky842]

That's alright; people are weird at the best of times. That plus you getting thrown here must be a bit, er...Confusing? [He's putting it mildly and he knows it. Being torn away from everything you know to get thrown into a bizarre place like this? It's a miracle that none of them have gone mad or into shock (at least to his limited knowledge).

Still, now that his best friend was about 8 years older than him, Dagran had discovered that his need for friends his age suddenly grew; Dirk could be his ticket out of Lonesville.
That realisation, coupled with Dirk's own smile, draws a warm grin out of Dagran as he juggles his cargo about until he can free a hand to offer it.]

Oh, your name! Welcome to town, Dirk Strider. My name's Dagran. And you can have one of those apples if you want; I'm just gonna hand a few of them out anyway, so it doesn't bother me none.

...I'm sorry I can't help you out more; I know how it feels with all these questions running through your head about what the hell's just happened to you. But if you need company, the least I can do is talk your ear off.

[anotherdirkstrider]

[Dirk takes the apple in his hand and inspects it, fruit still being a pretty novel concept. Jake always used to tell him about pineapples and coconuts and mangoes, but seeing something in person was worlds different than looking at it over a webchat.]

Thanks, dude. Much obliged.

[He looks back up at Dagran and tosses the apple into his sylladex for later.]

I'd be down to walk for a while, if you don't mind.

[ex_knightsky842]

...Dude? [He's going to assume that's some kind of nickname and take it as a compliment; you modern kids and your lingo and your dudes and sylladexes and things.

...Speaking of which, the fact that Dirk's apple appears to just vanish is something that Dagran notches up for later interrogation. For now, it's probably best to get away from the constant bustle that is the apartment blocks; he can always just hand out the apples as they walk around.
And he knows just the place to go.]

Alright, you're on. I know this part of town that's just forest if you're more used to that sort of thing? It gave me the willies goin' there alone, but if there's two of us it shouldn't be so eerie! Plus I got Berith too, if we need backup.

[His summoning the Persona is part trying to show off, part testing if Dirk knows about his own (and hoping that he's not the only one daft enough to dismiss Philemon's appearance). ...Plus, Berith is comforting to have around.]

[anotherdirkstrider]

[Explaining the deep, esoteric concept of "dude" might be more of a conversation than Dirk is in for, so he pushes away that particular lesson for some other time and instead tunes into what Dagran is saying.]

So that's a persona, then? [He examines the figure, brows furrowed.] So you talked to the man in the butterfly mask, too. And he gave you the same rundown he gave me.

[Unless there is something even weirder happening than whatever is already going on, to his knowledge that is the most logical conclusion. It seems he isn't alone-- maybe Dagran can help him understand just what he'd found himself ass-deep in.]

[ex_knightsky842]

[Good idea Dirk, it'd probably just go in circles anyway. Unburdened by the true meaning of 'dude', Dagran whistles lightly and starts heading for Capricorn Ward; he tries to motion for both companions (Berith totally counts as a companion. Totally) to follow as best he can with full arms.]

Yeah. ...'Least I'm pretty sure I did. I thought it was a dream at first, so I kinda...didn't bother remembering it all. But that sounds familiar. I don't know, I was a little more focused on figuring out how to use the elevators than remembering it anyway.

All I know for sure is that you have to be in trouble for yours to come out. That's how I got mine to come out--
[He stops suddenly, turning and raising his eyebrows as if he's about to impart some serious wisdom.] ...Don't fight demons with a dagger, by the way. Not unless you have the advantage. Let the persona take your hits once you get it, they're good for that.

Anyway, don't stress about it too much; I haven't seen the butterfly guy again, and I haven't needed Berith too much. It makes for good company when I can't sleep, though.

[anotherdirkstrider]

[Dirk follows quietly. When Dagran turns to face him, he remains impassive but for a little chuckle at his earnest advice.]

I'll keep that in mind.

[It is good to know about the tactical advantage of having a Persona that can take hits for you, but what sticks and ticks in his mind is that he needs to be in danger for it to emerge. Plans to intentionally endanger himself to make it appear begin to form, and he pushes them aside for later consideration.]

Do you usually fight with daggers, then?